महाराज महाश्चर्यमधुनैवाभवद्विभो । स्वर्गादप्यधिकं सौख्यं कुम्भीपाकस्थपापिनाम्
O great king, a great wonder has just occurred, O lord; the sinners dwelling in Kumbhipaka are experiencing happiness greater than heaven.
निमित्तं नैव जानीमः कस्मादिदमभूद्विभो । चकिताः स्म वयं सर्वे प्राप्ता देव त्वदन्तिकम्
We do not know the cause for why this has happened, O lord; we are all bewildered and have come before you, O god.
निशम्य दूतवाणीं तां धर्मराट् शीघ्रमुत्थितः । महामहिषमारूढो ययौ ते यत्र पापिनः
Hearing that message from the messengers, Dharma Raja quickly rose; mounted on his great buffalo, he went to where the sinners were.
तां वार्तां प्रेषयामास दूतद्वारामरावतीम् । श्रुत्वा तां देवराजोऽपि प्राप्तो देवगणैः सह
He sent that news through a messenger to Amaravati; hearing it, the king of the gods also arrived with the hosts of gods.
ब्रह्मलोकात्पद्मजोऽपि वैकुण्ठाद्विष्टरश्रवाः । तत्तल्लोकाच्च दिक्पालाः समाजग्मुर्गणैः सह
From Brahmaloka, the lotus-born came, and from Vaikuntha, Vishnu with his retinue; and from their respective worlds, the guardians of the directions arrived with their hosts.
परिवार्य स्थिताः सर्वे कुम्भीपाकमितस्ततः । अपश्यंस्तद्गताञ्जीवान्स्वर्गाधिकसुखान्त्वितान्
All surrounded and stood there at Kumbhipaka; I saw those living beings within it, enjoying happiness greater than heaven.
चकिता एव ते सर्वे न विदुस्तस्य कारणम् । अहो पापस्य भोगार्थं कुण्डमेतद्विनिर्मितम्
All of them became startled and did not know the reason for it; they said, 'Ah, this pit has been made for the enjoyment of the sinful.'
तत्र सौख्यं यदा जातं तदा पापात्तु किं भयम् । उच्छिन्ना वेदमर्यादा परमेशकृता कथम्
When happiness has arisen there, then what fear can there be from sin? How could the boundaries of the Vedas, established by the Supreme Lord, be destroyed?
भगवान् स्वस्य संकल्पं वितथं कृतवान्कथम् । आश्चर्यमेतदाश्चर्यमेतदित्येव भाषिणः
How could the Blessed Lord make His own resolve come to nothing? They kept saying, 'This is a wonder, this is a wonder indeed.'
तटस्था अभवन्सर्वे न विदुस्तत्र कारणम् । एतस्मिन्नन्तरे शौरिः सम्मन्त्र्य विबुधादिभिः
All remained on the sidelines, not knowing the reason there; meanwhile, Śauri, after consulting with the gods and others,
ययौ कैश्चित्सुरगणैः सहितः शङ्करालयम् । पार्वत्या सहितं देवं कोटिकन्दर्पसुन्दरम्
went with some groups of gods to the abode of Śaṅkara, where he saw the Lord, beautiful as a myriad of Cupids, together with Pārvatī.
रमणीयतमाङ्गं तं लावण्यखनिमद्भुतम् । सदा षोडशवर्षीयं नानालङ्कारभूषितम्
He saw that wondrous form, the most lovely body, a mine of beauty, ever sixteen years old, adorned with various ornaments,
नानागणैः परिवृतं लालयन्तं परां शिवाम् । ददर्श चन्द्रमौलिं स चतुर्वेदं ननाम ह
surrounded by various hosts, caressing the supreme Śivā; he saw the moon-crested one and bowed to the Lord of the Four Vedas.
वृत्तान्तं कथयामास चमत्कृतमतिस्फुटम् । एतस्य कारणं देव न जानीमः कथञ्चन
He narrated the entire astonishing event very clearly: 'O Lord, we do not know the cause of this at all.'
वद तत्कारणं देव सर्वज्ञोऽसि यतः प्रभो । विष्णुवाक्यं तदा श्रुत्वा प्रसन्नमुखपङ्कजः
'Tell us the cause of this, O Lord, for you are all-knowing, O Master.' Hearing Viṣṇu's words, his lotus face beaming,
उवाच मधुरं वाक्यं मेघगम्भीरया गिरा । शृणु विष्णो तन्निमित्तं नाश्चर्यं त्वत्र विद्यते
he spoke sweet words in a voice deep as a cloud: 'Hear, O Viṣṇu, the reason for this; there is nothing wondrous here.'
भस्मनो महिमैवायं भस्मना किं भवेन्न हि । कुम्भीपाकं गतो द्रष्टुं दुर्वासाः शैवसम्मतः
This is indeed the greatness of ash; what is impossible for ash? Durvāsas, esteemed by the Śaivas, went to see Kumbhīpāka.
अवाङ्मुखो ददर्शाधस्तदा वायुवशाद्धरे । भालभस्मकणास्तत्र पतिता दैवयोगतः
There, facing downward by the force of the wind, he saw below; by divine arrangement, some particles of ash from his forehead fell there.
तेन जातमिदं सर्वं भस्मनो महिमा त्वयम् । इतः परं तु तत्तीर्थं पितृलोकनिवासिनाम्
Because of that, all this happened; this is the greatness of ash. From now on, that place will be a sacred ford for the dwellers of the ancestors' realm.
भविष्यति न सन्देहो यत्र स्नात्वा सुखी भवेत् । पितृतीर्थं तु तन्नाम्नाप्यत ऊर्ध्वं भविष्यति
Without doubt, whoever bathes there will become happy; from now on, it will be known by the name Pitṛtīrtha, the ancestors' ford.
मल्लिङ्गस्थापनं तत्र कार्यं देव्याश्च सत्तम । पूजयिष्यन्ति ते तत्र पितृलोकनिवासिनः
There, the best of goddesses' liṅga should be established; the dwellers of the ancestors' realm will worship it there.
त्रैलोक्ये यानि तीर्थानि तत्र श्रेष्ठमिदं भवेत् । पित्रीश्वरीपूजया तु त्रैलोक्यं पूजितं भवेत्
Of all the sacred fords in the three worlds, this will be the best; by worship of Pitṛīśvarī, the three worlds will be worshipped.
श्रीनारायण उवाच इति देववचः श्रुत्वा देवं मूर्ध्ना प्रणम्य च । तदनुज्ञां समादाय ययौ देवान्तिकं हरिः
Śrī Nārāyaṇa said: Having heard these words of the god, and bowing his head to the Lord, Hari, taking his permission, went to the assembly of the gods.
तत्सर्वं कथयामास कारणं शङ्करोदितम् । साधु साध्विति ते प्रोचुरमरा मौलिचालनैः
He narrated everything, the cause as spoken by Śaṅkara; the gods said, 'Excellent, excellent!' shaking their crested heads.
शशंसुर्भस्ममाहात्म्यं हरिब्रह्मादयः सुराः । पितरश्चैव सन्तुष्टास्तीर्थलाभात्परन्तप
Hari, Brahma, and the other gods, as well as the ancestors, praised the greatness of the ashes, O scorcher of foes, and were satisfied by attaining the holy place.
तत्तीर्थतीरे लिङ्गं च देव्या मूर्तिं यथाविधि । स्थापयामासुरमराः पूजयामासुरन्वहम्
At the bank of that holy place, the gods established a linga and an image of the Goddess according to proper rites, and worshipped them daily.
तत्र ये प्राणिनोऽभूवन्पापभोगार्थमास्थिताः । ते विमानं समारुह्य गताः कैलासमण्डलम्
Those living beings who were there, having taken up enjoyment of sin, ascended celestial vehicles and went to the region of Kailasa.
नाम्ना भद्रगणास्ते तु वसन्त्यद्यापि तत्र हि । पुनश्च दूरदेशे तु कुम्भीपाको विनिर्मितः
Known as the Bhadraganas, they still reside there today; and far away, the hell called Kumbhipaka was constructed.
निरुद्धं शैवगमनं देवैस्तत्र तु तद्दिनात् । इति ते सर्वमाख्यातं भस्ममाहात्म्यमुत्तमम्
On that day, the gods blocked the path to Shiva; thus, O you, all has been told to you regarding the supreme greatness of the ashes.
नातः परतरं किञ्चिदधिकं विद्यते मुने । ऊर्ध्वपुण्ड्रविधिं चैवाप्यधिकारिविभेदतः
O sage, there is nothing higher or greater than this; the method of applying the upward mark also varies according to eligibility.